World's Billionaires - #15

© REUTERS/Eliana Aponte

• Orphaned as a child, Abramovich dropped out of college, then made a fortune in a series of controversial oil export deals in early 1990s.
• His fortune took off in 1995 when he teamed up with Boris Berezovsky (now also a billionaire) to take over oil giant Sibneft at a fraction of its market value. (When Berezovsky fled Russia in 2000 to escape fraud charges, he sold out to Abramovich.)
• In 2003 to 2004 he sold stake in Russian Aluminum to fellow billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who is now ranked ninth in the world.
• In 2005 Abramovich liquidated his biggest asset, selling 72.6% stake in Sibneft to gas titan Gazprom for $13 billion.
• In 2006 he bought stake in the country's largest steelmaker, Evraz Group, and, early in 2008, a piece of Highland Gold, a U.K. mining company with operations in Russia.
• He also spent some of his cash buying U.K. soccer club, Chelsea.
• He recently finalized divorce from the mother of his five children, Irina, but largely stays out of public eye, except for occasional spottings with rumored girlfriend Daria Zhukova.

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